Ask people on the streets of Freetown about entertainment and they would talk sports, music and then film. Just how much they could realise that there are many forms of entertainment available in the country like the arts
and craft, dancing, painting and all that.
Entertainment in this country has become a mimicry of what obtains in neighboring countries and the western style gig. Therefore, players in the
burgeoning industry seem to have totally ignored the rich and admirable tradition of the land. This is quite evident in recent Sierra Leonean movies and tunes. It is very easy to mistake them for foreign movies. Costumes used in traditional Sierra Leonean movies are not typical of the country’s culture.
I have recently set out to explore some of the reasons for all the concerns above. On board a taxi cab one evening from Lumley to Wilberforce, I met an elderly man in his early 40s. He was visibly angry with especially the movie industry for ignoring what he called “we culture.” When I asked of his take on the growth of the movie industry that has gone bang recently, he said “they have a lot to learn if they want to grow. There is a great potential in the industry but more to be done”.
Both the film and music industries in Sierra Leone have hit a crucial line, soon after they took off. But they do not seem to be ready for the global competition. Recently the sub-region saw a quantum leap in the movie and music production from Nigeria to Sierra Leone, from Liberia to Ghana and from Senegal to Mali. Naturally, competition is keen and anyone involved in the entertainment business must be ready to face the tough battles that usually come with the glamour and fanfare.
In retrospect, Sierra Leone had been recognized in British West Africa during and shortly after colonial rule as the bedrock for entertainment, according to Wolfgang Bender (1950s and early 1960s). He noted that Sierra Leonean artistes were like kings in the sub-region: the likes of Ali Ganda, who when the Queen visited Nigeria was crowned “West Africa’s calypso king”, Ebenezer Calender who was one of the best known Sierra Leonean artistes for his “milo jazz” music and was admired by other artistes in the sub-region such as the king of Ghanaian highlife E.T. Mensah for his “Fire Fire” song which was very popular in West Africa. He paid tributes to the likes of S.E. Rogers (commonly known as Rogee). Also was the Sierra Leone dance troop that flew the green white and blue flag high in Africa. You would realise that there was that great zest in artistes to contend with fellow artistes in the sub-region.
If Sierra Leone were to gain her lost glory in the area of entertainment, structural strides must be taken to get them back on track and face the challenges ahead in today’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Recently, the country witnessed the proliferation of Sierra Leonean movies. Like was for movies, after the war the music industry had no better structure or planning as to how it would have started to propel itself. Music created employment for youths especially dropouts and ex-fighters who were jobless.
However, there was no organised structure in place like an anti-piracy law, or a music academy to stand the test of time. As a result the industry grappled with problems of putting out quality products that could match others from neighboring Nigeria and Ghana. Music and movies from other countries are gradually dominating the music stalls in Sierra Leone, with leading local artistes imitating their foreign counterparts.
Therefore, with the proliferation of movies in the country, caution and organised strides must be taken so as to help the nascent industries compete ably. The reality is that there are potentials in the Sierra Leone movie industry and are capable of taking the industry to higher heights and retrieving the country’s lost glory in entertainment.
There is no secret that a venture into the film industry may be expensive and involves high level of intellectual input that is lacking in most of the movies currently circulating in the country. There is indeed an urgent need for basic structures to get the industry on its feet for good; these may include the establishment of a film production academy to prepare producers on script writing and the training of technical personnel in shooting films and casts in dealing with scripts. These are qualities that can be innate but for perfection and efficiency there must be an ultimate call for valuable training to reach the highest peak.
A major impediment to the growth of both the film and music industries is the lack of access to modern equipment to do the job. If one wants to be trendy in the current competition to produce films and music one must be equipped to access the latest technologies involved in the production of movies and music, coupled with the required talents. Or maybe the utilisation of graduates and people who are proficient users of their mother tongue and the Queen’s language, especially nowadays when Sierra Leoneans are fascinated by “Salone movies”, lest it might be difficult to live up with the current trend.
Entertainment investors must not be hesitant to pour cash into this growing film industry in the country and they must also be ready to invest in other forms of entertainment, such as arts and craft, painting, dancing and more, which might showcase hidden talents who have the potential to take entertainment in Sierra Leone to another level in the sub-region and beyond.
I guess the elderly man I met in that taxi cab would be happy to watch on screen Sierra Leonean movies in which actors conspicuously depict our arts and culture, our traditional dance, our unique and rich entertainment lifestyle.
Thanks for keeping a copy!
